Motivation
Experience shows that students struggle to form a picture of anatomical structures and their interrelationships, which complicates learning anatomy. Despite the addition of radiological imaging in education, it still proves difficult to develop a complete and correct picture of human development and congenital anomalies. To what extent can augmented reality (AR) help improve the learning efficiency and learning enjoyment of medical students in anatomy education?
Hypothesis
Knowledge of embryology and teratology is of great importance for future doctors and scientists. However, the use of Augmented Reality, a form of Extended Reality (XR), in this education is still pending. Lucas and Dylan expect that the 3D models they plan to develop will help students in gaining an understanding of human anatomy. Dylan's previous innovation projects have already shown that AR applications within education can lead to increased intrinsic student motivation and contribute positively to the learning experience.
Desired solution
Dylan and Lucas are using their vouchers to develop an AR application that develops 3D models of human embryos and foetuses, based on radiological data. These models are complemented by background information on embryological structures and developmental disorders. The app is designed to enhance the study of embryology and teratology by offering students interactive visualisations. They will then investigate what effect AR has on students' learning efficiency, motivation and cognitive load. In this way, anatomy education for students of Medicine, Dentistry, Biology and Biomedical Sciences can be improved. Moreover, with this project, they aim to increase knowledge about XR among lecturers so that its application in teaching will increase.
Action plan
This project converts radiological data from human embryos and foetuses into 3D models using open-source data, proprietary data and previous experience in developing the app GreyMapp. This will include developmental disorders of these embryos and background information will be added for each embryological structure.
After developing the app, Dylan and Lucas are investigating the effect of AR on learning efficiency and cognitive load through teaching experiments. One of these experiments investigates whether AR can not only help improve learning efficiency, but also help prepare students for traditional dissecting room teaching. In addition, a mental rotation test, in which students have to imagine what anatomical structures look like from different angles, is used to see whether XR helps in better visualisation of anatomy in 3D.
Vlog update #1 (in Dutch)
In the first episode Lucas Boer and Dylan Henssen explain what the problem is and what solution they have in mind.